DOCSLIB.ORG

Competition Issues in Road Transport 2000

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Competition Issues in Road Transport 2000 The OECD Competition Committee debated competition issues in road transport in October 2000. This document includes an executive summary and the documents from the meeting: an analytical note by Mr. Darryl Biggar for the OECD, written submissions from Australia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the United States, as well as an aide-memoire of the discussion. The road transport sector, an essential mode of transport in OECD economies, is conventionally divided into two, largely unrelated, parts – the road freight industry and the road passenger industry. The sectors under discussion – trucking, buses, and taxis – have quite different characteristics and scope for competition, which reflect inter alia differences in the timeliness and economies of scale and scope in operations. Trucking can sustain high level of competition and to some extent buses as well while there is some debate as to how and what form of competition can be introduced in taxis. As in the air transport industry, international trucking is governed by restrictive bilateral treaties. Most countries have liberalised their domestic trucking sector, removing controls on entry and prices. In the bus industry, long-distance bus services are liberalised in some countries while intra-city or local buses are very rarely liberalised. The taxi industry appears at first sight to be competitive with many buyers and many sellers. Structural Reform in the Rail Industry (2005) Competition Policy and the Deregulation of Road Transport (1990) Unclassified DAFFE/CLP(2001)10 Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 22-May-2001 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ English - Or. English DIRECTORATE FOR FINANCIAL, FISCAL AND ENTERPRISE AFFAIRS Unclassified DAFFE/CLP(2001)10 COMMITTEE ON COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY COMPETITION ISSUES IN ROAD TRANSPORT English - Or. English JT00108149 Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d’origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original format DAFFE/CLP(2001)10 FOREWORD This document comprises proceedings in the original languages of a roundtable on transport road, which was held by the Committee on Competition Law and Policy in October 2000. It is published under the responsibility of the Secretary General of the OECD to bring information on this topic to the attention of a wider audience. This compilation is one of several published in a series entitled "Competition Policy Roundtables". PRÉFACE Ce document rassemble la documentation dans la langue d'origine dans laquelle elle a été soumise, relative à une table ronde sur les transports routiers, qui s'est tenue en octobre 2000 dans le cadre de la réunion du Comité du droit et de la politique de la concurrence. Il est publié sous la responsabilité du Secrétaire général de l'OCDE, afin de porter à la connaissance d'un large public les éléments d'information qui ont été réunis à cette occasion. Cette compilation fait partie de la série intitulée "Les tables rondes sur la politique de la concurrence". Visit our Internet Site -- Consultez notre site Internet http://www.oecd.org/daf/clp 2 DAFFE/CLP(2001)10 OTHER TITLES SERIES ROUNDTABLES ON COMPETITION POLICY 1. Competition Policy and Environment OCDE/GD(96)22 (Roundtable in May 1995, published in 1996) 2. Failing Firm Defence OCDE/GD(96)23 (Roundtable in May 1995, published in 1996) 3. Competition Policy and Film Distribution OCDE/GD(96)60 (Rounddtable in November 1995, published in 1996) 4. Competition Policy and Efficiency Claims in Horizontal Agreements OCDE/GD(96)65 (Roundtable in November 1995, published in 1996) 5. The Essential Facilities Concept OCDE/GD(96)113 (Roundtable in February 1996, published in 1996) 6. Competition in Telecommunications OCDE/GD(96)114 (Roundtable in November 1995, published in 1996) 7. The Reform of International Satellite Organisations OCDE/GD(96)123 (Roundtable in November 1995, published in 1996) 8. Abuse of Dominance and Monopolisation OCDE/GD(96)131 (Roundtable in February 1996, published in 1996) 9. Application of Competition Policy to High Tech Markets OCDE/GD(97)44 (Roundtable in April 1996, published in 1997) 10. General Cartel Bans: Criteria for Exemption for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises OCDE/GD(97)53 (Roundtable in April 1996, published in 1997) 11. Competition Issues related to Sports OCDE/GD(97)128 (Roundtable in October 1996, published in 1997) 12. Application of Competition Policy to the Electricity Sector OCDE/GD(97)132 (Roundtable in October 1996, published in 1997) 13. Judicial Enforcement of Competition Law OCDE/GD(97)200 (Roundtable in October 1996, published in 1997) 14. Resale Price Maintenance OCDE/GD(97)229 (Roundtable in February 1997, published in 1997) 3 DAFFE/CLP(2001)10 15. Railways: Structure, Regulation and Competition Policy DAFFE/CLP(98)1 (Roundtable in October 1997, published in 1998) 16. Competition Policy and International Airport Services DAFFE/CLP(98)3 (Roundtable in June 1997, published in 1998) 17. Enhancing the Role of Competition in the Regulation of Banks DAFFE/CLP(98)16 (Roundtable in February 1998, published in 1998) 18. Competitition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights DAFFE/CLP(98)18 (Roundtable in October 1997, published in 1998) 19. Competition and Related Regulation Issues in the Insurance Industry DAFFE/CLP(98)20 (Roundtable in June 1998, published in 1998) 20. Competition Policy and Procurement Markets DAFFE/CLP(99)3 (Roundtable in June 1998, published in January 1999) 21. Regulation and Competition Issues in Broadcasting in the light of Convergence DAFFE/CLP(99)1 (Roundtable in October 1998, published in April 1999) 22. Relationship between Regulators and Competition Authorities DAFFE/CLP(99)8 (Roundtable in June 1998, published in June 1999) 23. Buying Power of Multiproduct Retailers DAFFE/CLP(99)21 (Roundtable in October 1998, published in July 1999) 24. Promoting Competition in Postal Services DAFFE/CLP(99)22 (Roundtable in February 1999, published in September 1999) 25. Oligopoly DAFFE/CLP(99)25 (Roundtable in May 1999, published in October 1999) 26. Airline Mergers and Alliances DAFFE/CLP(2000)1 (Roundtable in October 1999, published in January 2000) 27. Competition in Professional Services DAFFE/CLP(2000)2 (Roundtable in June 1999, published in February 2000) 28. Competition in Local Services: Solid Waste Management DAFFE/CLP(2000)13 (Roundtable in October 1999, published in July 2000) 29. Mergers in Financial Services (Roundtable in June 2000, published in July 2000) DAFFE/CLP(2000)17 30. Promoting Competition in the Natural Gas Industry DAFFE/CLP/2000)18 (Roundtable in February 2000) 4 DAFFE/CLP(2001)10 31. Competition Issues in Electronic Commerce (Roundtable in October 2000) DAFFE/CLP(2000)32 32. Competition and Regulation Issues in the Pharmaceutical Industry DAFFE/CLP(2000)29 (Roundtable in June 2000) 33. Competition Issues in Joint Ventures DAFFE/CLP(2000)33 (Roundtable in October 2000) 5 DAFFE/CLP(2001)10 6 DAFFE/CLP(2001)10 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 9 SYNTHÈSE................................................................................................................................................ 15 BACKGROUND NOTE ............................................................................................................................ 21 NOTE DE RÉFÉRENCE ...........................................................................................................................71 NATIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS Australia .................................................................................................................................... 125 Czech Republic ......................................................................................................................... 143 Ireland ....................................................................................................................................... 151 Italy ........................................................................................................................................... 165 Japan…...................................................................................................................................... 183 Korea......................................................................................................................................... 189 Netherlands ............................................................................................................................... 195 Norway...................................................................................................................................... 209 Poland........................................................................................................................................ 217 Spain…...................................................................................................................................... 243 Turkey ....................................................................................................................................... 249 United States ............................................................................................................................. 255 AIDE-MEMOIRE OF THE DISCUSSION
Recommended publications
  • Transport Trends 2015

    Transport Trends 2015

    Transport Trends An Overview of Ireland’s Transport Sector Economic and Financial Evaluation Unit Issue 1/2015 : [email protected] Overview and Contents Transport Trends seeks to provide a concise overview of the key developments that are evident from the latest Irish transport data. The publication is produced annually by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport’s Economic and Financial Evaluation Unit (EFEU); a constituent unit of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES). The contents of this publication are based on data sourced from various official sources and internal data. While the responsibility for data accuracy remains with the original source as cited, any errors in transposition or analysis in this document are the responsibility of EFEU. Information provided here should be used for reference purposes. Any use of data for analysis or publication should rely on the original sources as cited. It is important to note that this publication is not intended to cover the full range of transport statistics and as such wider databases (such as the CSO) should be relied upon for analysis. The Data Sources and Notes section should be consulted when interpreting this document. This publication was produced by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport’s Economic and Financial Evaluation Unit and does not necessarily represent any views of the Minister or the Government. This document is arranged as follows: Section A: Infrastructure A broad overview of the infrastructure that makes up the Irish transport system by area: roads, public transport, maritime, aviation and sustainable transport. Section B: Investment An analysis of expenditure and revenue associated with transport and recent trends in this context to detail where funding has been targeted.
  • Green Party Transport Policy

    Green Party Transport Policy

    Green Party Transport Policy Transport Policy Table of Contents SUMMARY 1 POLICY 4 1.1. INTRODUCTION 4 1.2. TRANSPORT AND THE ECONOMY 5 1.2.1. Economic 5 1.2.2. Taxation 5 1.2.3. Other Aspects 6 1.3. THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN TRANSPORT PROVISION 6 1.3.1. Generally 6 1.3.2. Investment Priorities 6 1.3.3. Integration of Transport Services 7 1.3.4. Planning and Transport 7 1.4. BUSES 8 1.4.1. Context 8 1.4.2. General 8 1.4.3. Routes 8 1.4.4. Carbon Emission 9 1.4.5. Priority of Buses 9 1.4.6. Ticketing and Fare Structure 9 Transport Policy 1.4.7. Bus Stop Facilities 10 1.4.8. Rural Bus Transport 10 1.4.9. Bus Services in a Liberalised Market 10 1.4.10. Coach Stations 10 1.5. RAILWAYS AND LIGHT RAIL 11 1.5.1. Generally 11 1.5.2. Mainline and Provincial Passenger Rail 11 1.5.3. Dublin Commuter Passenger Rail 13 1.5.4. Light Rail 13 1.5.5. Rail Freight 13 1.6. ROADS AND MOTOR VEHICLES 14 1.6.1. Financial Context 14 1.6.2. Urban Roads 14 1.6.3. Interurban Roads 15 1.6.4. Motorway Service Stations 15 1.6.5. Speed Limits 16 1.6.6. Road Signage 16 1.7. THE TAX SYSTEM AND PRIVATE VEHICLES 16 1.7.1. General 16 Transport Policy 1.7.2. Vehicle Registration Tax 16 1.7.3.
  • The Role of Ethanol in Ireland's Climate Action

    The Role of Ethanol in Ireland's Climate Action

    THE ROLE OF ETHANOL IN IRELAND’S CLIMATE ACTION PROGRAMME “the case for E10 is utterly compelling” A report prepared for Ethanol Europe With forward by Brendan Halligan Jim Power, July 2019 FORWARD BY BRENDAN HALLIGAN In the fight against climate change it is indisputable that the biggest technical challenge is how to reduce, and then eliminate, GHG emissions from transport. After all, the private car is indispensable to modern life and trucks essential to the running of the economy. Doing away with either is unthinkable, yet transport in all its forms is responsible for two fifths of emissions and if let grow as predicted will surely accelerate the rise in global temperatures, thereby causing irreversible damage to the planet and even threatening the survival of the species. Brendan Halligan, Founder and President of the Institute of International and European Affairs In this report, so expertly assembled by the distinguished economist, Jim Power, the scale of the challenge confronting policy-makers is laid out with refreshing candour. Simply put, the task of decarbonising transport will take at least three decades, and probably more, by which time it will be really too late to prevent the environmental catastrophe predicted by the IPCC and other scientific bodies. So, what emerges as the key issue is the speed at which the transition can be accomplished. The author properly points to electronic vehicles as the ultimate solution but is acutely aware that it is a long way off. In Ireland, for example, the number of cars trebled over the past thirty years but electric vehicles still only account for 0.1% of the fleet.
  • Public Transport Procurement in Britain

    Public Transport Procurement in Britain

    This is a repository copy of Public Transport Procurement in Britain. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/159839/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Nash, C and Smith, A orcid.org/0000-0003-3668-5593 (2020) Public Transport Procurement in Britain. Research in Transportation Economics. ISSN 0739-8859 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2020.100847 © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc- nd/4.0/). Reuse This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. This licence only allows you to download this work and share it with others as long as you credit the authors, but you can’t change the article in any way or use it commercially. More information and the full terms of the licence here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Public Transport Procurement in Britain Chris Nash and Andrew Smith Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds Key words Bus; rail; franchising; competitive tendering; competition JEL classification R41 Abstract Britain is one of the countries with the most experience of alternative ways of procuring public transport services. From a situation where most public transport services were provided by publicly owned companies, it has moved to a situation where most are private.
  • Business Report FY 2020

    Business Report FY 2020

    Business report FY 2020 March 15th, 2021 Contents Annual business review – FY 2020 ......................................................................................... 3 Annual financial release – FY 2020 ............................................................................................. 3 Business highlights of FY 2020 ................................................................................................. 11 Perspectives .............................................................................................................................. 13 Related parties .......................................................................................................................... 14 Risk factors ............................................................................................................................... 15 Annual consolidated financial statements – FY 2020 ....................................................... 18 Annual consolidated financial statements .................................................................................. 18 Notes to the annual consolidated financial statements .............................................................. 24 Statutory Auditors’ report ...................................................................................................... 88 2 Annual business review – FY 2020 Annual financial release – FY 2020 ANNUAL BUSINESS REVIEW – FY 2020 ANNUAL FINANCIAL RELEASE – FY 2020 • Adjusted revenue down -40.6% to €2,311.8 million • Adjusted organic
  • Beyond the Quiet Life of a Natural Monopoly: Regulatory Challenges

    Beyond the Quiet Life of a Natural Monopoly: Regulatory Challenges

    Beyond the quiet life of a natural monopoly: Regulatory challenges ahead for Europe’s rail sector Issue paper # 2 Competition and cooperation, organisations and markets: how to deal with barriers to entry and market power? John Preston (University of Southampton) October 2012 121025_CERRE_CES_Rail_IssuePap2_JP Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) asbl rue de l’Industrie, 42 (box 16) – B-1040 Brussels ph :+32 (0)2 230 83 60 – fax : +32 (0)2 230 83 60 VAT BE 0824 446 055 RPM – [email protected] – www.cerre.eu Table of content About CERRE .....................................................................................................................................3 About the author ..............................................................................................................................5 Executive summary ..........................................................................................................................6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................7 1. Barriers to Entry .......................................................................................................................9 2. Practical Evidence .................................................................................................................. 12 On track competition ................................................................................................................. 12 Off track competition ...............................................................................................................
  • View Annual Report

    View Annual Report

    National Express Group PLC Group National Express National Express Group PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2007 Annual Report and Accounts 2007 Making travel simpler... National Express Group PLC 7 Triton Square London NW1 3HG Tel: +44 (0) 8450 130130 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7506 4320 e-mail: [email protected] www.nationalexpressgroup.com 117 National Express Group PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2007 Glossary AGM Annual General Meeting Combined Code The Combined Code on Corporate Governance published by the Financial Reporting Council ...by CPI Consumer Price Index CR Corporate Responsibility The Company National Express Group PLC DfT Department for Transport working DNA The name for our leadership development strategy EBT Employee Benefit Trust EBITDA Normalised operating profit before depreciation and other non-cash items excluding discontinued operations as one EPS Earnings Per Share – The profit for the year attributable to shareholders, divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue, excluding those held by the Employee Benefit Trust and shares held in treasury which are treated as cancelled. EU European Union The Group The Company and its subsidiaries IFRIC International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards KPI Key Performance Indicator LTIP Long Term Incentive Plan NXEA National Express East Anglia NXEC National Express East Coast Normalised diluted earnings Earnings per share and excluding the profit or loss on sale of businesses, exceptional profit or loss on the
  • Regulatory Reform of the Irish Bus Industry

    Regulatory Reform of the Irish Bus Industry

    DELAYED INDEFINITELY: REGULATORY REFORM OF THE IRISH BUS INDUSTRY Patrick Massey* During the past 20 years successive transport Ministers have 1. promised to reform the bus transport market in Ireland. Bus Introduction passengers are still waiting for such reforms to be delivered. In September 2006 the current Minister announced proposals for the introduction of competitive tendering but only in respect of “new routes” in Dublin City with Dublin Bus being allowed retain its monopoly in respect of all existing routes. Private operators will exclusively be permitted to tender for new services up to a limit of 100 buses. Any further new services will be subject to open tender.1 While no formal announcement has been made regarding services outside Dublin, it appears that the Government favours retaining Bus Eireann’s monopoly with private operators being largely confined to acting as sub contractors for the State company. The Minister’s announcement suggests that meaningful reform has been postponed yet again. The current regulatory regime for bus transport in Ireland has been widely criticised for preventing competition. (See, for example, Barrett, 1982, 2000, 2004; Competition Authority, 2000; Massey and Daly, 2003; Forfás, 2004; *The author is a Director of Compecon Limited and can be contacted at [email protected]. I am grateful for the helpful comments of an anonymous referee. Any remaining errors or omissions are the responsibility of the author. 1 Dail Debates, 29 September 2006. 38 Quarterly Economic Commentary, Spring, 2007, pp.38-61. Ribault-O’Reilly, 2005).2 The present paper argues that the existing regulatory regime is anti-competitive, results in significant inefficiencies and provides poor value for money for bus users and taxpayers.
  • Report on Diesel-And Alternative-Fuel Bus Trials

    Report on Diesel-And Alternative-Fuel Bus Trials

    Report on Diesel-and Alternative-Fuel Bus Trials December 2019 Report on Diesel- and Alternative-Fuel Bus Trials Prepared for: Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport Ref: 546-19X0091 Public Version December 2019 Byrne Ó Cléirigh, 30a Westland Square, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, D02 PN76, Ireland. Telephone: + 353 – 1 – 6770733. Facsimile: + 353 – 1 – 6770729. Email: [email protected]. Web: www.boc.ie Directors: LM Ó Cléirigh BE MIE CEng FIEI FIMechE; LP Ó Cléirigh BE MEngSc MBA CEng FIEI FEI; ST Malone BE MIE CEng FIEI; JB FitzPatrick FCA. Registered in Dublin, Ireland No. 237982. Byrne Ó Cléirigh Consulting Report on Diesel- and Alternative-Fuel Bus Trials DISCLAIMER This report has been prepared by Byrne Ó Cléirigh Limited with all reasonable skill, care and diligence within the terms of the Contract with the Client, incorporating our Terms and Conditions and taking account of the resources devoted to it by agreement with the Client. We disclaim any responsibility to the Client and others in respect of any matters outside the scope of the above. This report is confidential to the Client and we accept no responsibility of whatsoever nature to third parties to whom this report, or any part thereof, is made known. Any such party relies upon the report at their own risk. 546-19X0091 Public Version December 2019 Byrne Ó Cléirigh Consulting Report on Diesel- and Alternative-Fuel Bus Trials Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. I ABBREVIATIONS
  • Ireland's Environment – An

    Ireland's Environment – An

    Chapter 11 Environment and Transport Chapter 11: Environment and Transport 281 Environment and Transport 1. Introduction 2. Environmental Transport systems provide connectivity for delivering the Pressures from Transport goods, services, amenities and employment that underpin human wellbeing. A sustainable, accessible and efficient Energy Consumption transport system is not only important for welfare but Transport is the largest energy-consuming sector has a key function in trade and the economy. It also in Ireland, with a 42 per cent share of final facilitates tourism and is an employer and source of consumption, most of which is imported oil. government revenue in itself. Yet transport is also a major Consumption of energy has been strongly driven by consumer of energy and material resources, and a key economic and population growth, but also by decades source of environmental pressures in Ireland, particularly of public and private choices that affect the transport of greenhouse gases, air pollutants and noise. It takes up system. Figure 11.1 shows that growth in energy large swathes of land and contributes to urban sprawl, the consumption exceeded that of the economy until 2007. fragmentation of habitats and the sealing of surfaces (EEA, This was followed by continual declines until 2012, and 2019a). Reducing the impact of transport systems is one of a resumption as the economy recovered. Consumption the biggest challenges to delivering a sustainable and low- in 2018 was 25 per cent higher than in 2012, having carbon economy and society. The European Environment increased every year since then. Aviation alone grew Agency (EEA), in its state of the environment report 2020, by 7.9 per cent in 2018, accounting for 21 per cent of highlighted transport and mobility systems as particularly energy used for transport, second only to private cars, damaging to the environment.
  • 20F 2002 Main.Pdf

    20F 2002 Main.Pdf

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2002 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 ——————— FORM 20-F ¨ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 OR x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the Fiscal Year Ended: March 31, 2002 0-29304 (Commission file number) Ryanair Holdings plc (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Ryanair Holdings plc (Translation of registrant’s name into English) Republic of Ireland (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) c/o Ryanair Limited Corporate Head Office Dublin Airport County Dublin, Ireland (Address of principal executive offices) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act. None Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Title of each class Name of each national market on which registered American Depositary Shares, each Nasdaq National Market representing five Ordinary Shares Ordinary Shares, par value Nasdaq National Market* 1.27 euro cents per Share Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None (Title of Class) Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report. 755,030,716 Ordinary Shares Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
  • Challenges and Solutions to Support Good Equine Welfare Practice in Ireland Challenges and Solutions to Support Good Equine Welfare Practice in Ireland

    Challenges and Solutions to Support Good Equine Welfare Practice in Ireland Challenges and Solutions to Support Good Equine Welfare Practice in Ireland

    Challenges and Solutions to Support Good Equine Welfare Practice in Ireland Challenges and Solutions to Support Good Equine Welfare Practice in Ireland Joe Collins, Alison Hanlon, Simon More, Patrick Wall & Vivienne Duggan Illustrations by Hannah More 1 Contents Chapter 1 5 Introduction Chapter 2 7 The Equine Industry in Ireland Chapter 3 13 Engaging with Industry Chapter 4 19 Disposal of Horses Chapter 5 23 Fairs and Markets Chapter 6 27 Case Study of On-Farm Equine Welfare Chapter 7 31 Solutions at Work in Ireland Chapter 8 35 Identified Solutions and Future Directions Bibliography 38 Acknowledgements 39 4 Chapter 1 1 Introduction This report presents the key findings from a three-year study entitled The UCD Review of Equine Welfare in Ireland 2007- 2009. The key objective of the research was to record a snapshot of current threats to horse welfare on the island of Ireland, by considering stakeholder perceptions and recording actual events. Furthermore, the authors were interested in solutions, by considering current success stories and identifying new strategies to support best practice and inform the development of relevant policy. Introduction From the outset, stakeholder participation was considered to be the key to collecting relevant data. Individuals were drawn from stakeholder groups in government, industry and animal welfare sectors. The authors firmly believed that a collaborative approach would support the development of practical, implementable solutions to the challenges identified. This research was conducted by a multidisciplinary research team from University College Dublin (the UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine and the UCD Geary Institute): Dr Joe Collins, Veterinary practitioner and doctoral student Dr Vivienne Duggan, Lecturer and Senior Equine Medicine Clinician Dr Alison Hanlon, Senior Lecturer in Animal Welfare and Ethics Professor Simon More, Chair of Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Professor Patrick Wall, Chair of Public Health The report consists of eight chapters.